Jody Allen
Allen in 2026
Born	Jo Lynn Allen (1959-02-03)February 3, 1959 (age 67) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Other names	Jody Patton, Jo Lynn Patton, Jo Allen, Jody Allen Patton, Jo Allen Patton
Alma mater	Whitman College
Occupations	Vice-chair ofFirst & Goal Inc. Co-founder ofVulcan Inc. President ofVulcan Productions
Spouse	Brian Patton ​ ​ (m. 1988; div. 2009)​
Children	3
Relatives	Paul Allen (brother)

Jo Lynn "Jody"Allen (born February 3, 1959) is an American businesswoman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. She is the younger sister ofMicrosoft co-founderPaul Allen, and served as the chief executive officer of his investment and project management company,Vulcan Inc., from its founding in 1986 until 2015.^[1][2] She is also the co-founder and president of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.^[3]

Following the death of her brother in October 2018, Allen was named executor and trustee of his estate, pursuant to his instructions, giving her responsibility for overseeing the execution of his will and settling his affairs with tax authorities and parties with an interest in his projects.^[4] Among some of the properties she took control of upon his death were theSeattle Seahawks of theNational Football League (NFL), theOctopus super-yacht, and thePortland Trail Blazers of theNational Basketball Association (NBA), along with minority ownership of theSeattle Sounders FC ofMajor League Soccer (MLS).^[5][6]

Allen was born inSeattle, Washington, on February 3, 1959, the daughter of schoolteacher Edna Faye (née Gardner) Allen^[7] and Kenneth Sam Allen, an associate director of theUniversity of Washington Libraries.^[7][8] Her older brotherPaul went on to become co-founder ofMicrosoft Corporation.^[9] She grew up in Seattle'sWedgwood neighborhood and graduated fromLakeside School in 1975.^[9][10] She studied drama atWhitman College inWalla Walla, Washington, and was a member of the class of 1980.^[10][11][12]

In 1986, Allen co-foundedVulcan Inc. with her brother to manage their family's business and charitable endeavors.^[2] Vulcan's former chief financial officer described her as being "responsible for having the trains run on time" and said she had "a particular passion for real estate development, building things in general."^[13]

She currently serves as vice-chair of First & Goal Inc., which oversees operations of theSeattle Seahawks.^[2] She was involved in negotiating the public-private partnership that led to the construction ofLumen Field in Seattle, and was an adviser to her brother when he first considered buying the Seahawks.^[14][15] In 1997, a Seattle reporter wrote: "Jody Patton thought buying the Seahawks was a great idea; thus was born Allen's efforts to acquire the team and build a new football stadium."^[15]

During her career Allen also supervised construction of theModa Center inPortland,Oregon, renovation of theSeattle Cinerama, and also helped bring theEMP Museum (now the Museum of Pop Culture orMoPOP) to Seattle.^[11] She is also president ofVulcan Productions, a company that produces films, digital programs, and outreach initiatives, and has produced or executive-produced more than a dozen documentaries and feature films.^[16][17] In 2013, she signed on as a backer of two documentaries, theRichard E. Robbins-directed filmGirl Rising and the nuclear power documentaryPandora's Promise.^[18][19]

In 2013, five of her former security guards accused her of sexual harassment, and extensive unethical activity, including bribing customs officials to smuggle animal bones out of Africa and Antarctica.^[20] The lawsuits were eventually settled out of court.^[21]

Allen co-founded the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation in 1990.^[3] Since then, the foundation has given more than $469 million in grants to over 1,400 nonprofit organizations.^[22]

Allen is the president of the board of trustees of the Museum of Pop Culture, a nonprofit museum dedicated to pop culture and music.^[3][23] TheSeattle Times credited Allen with helping her brother make the museum a reality: "Although Allen gets most of the credit...it is the brainchild of both these close siblings. Allen provided the money and inspiration; Patton, as executive director, is largely responsible for the vision that made it happen."^[11]

With her brother, Allen co-founded the Seattle-based non-profit organizationAllen Institute for Brain Science in 2003, of which she serves as chairman of the board. The Institute provides free online public resources to scientists around the world.^[24][25] Other boards on which she has served include those of theSeahawks Charitable Foundation, ArtsFund, theTheatre Communications Group, theUniversity of Washington Foundation, theMuseum of Glass, theLos Angeles Film Festival and theOregon Shakespeare Festival.^[3]

Allen has three children with Brian Patton, whom she divorced in 2009 after 21 years of marriage.^{[8][11][26][27]} Allen's ex-husband is a golf-course manager.^[27][28] She was known as Jody Patton, Jody Allen Patton and Jo Allen Patton while married.^[11][29][30]

She is a member of theRoyal Canadian Geographical Society^[31] and theExplorers Club.^[32]

As of 2009^[update], Allen lives onMercer Island, Washington.^[13]

• Men with Guns (1997)^[16][33]
• The Luzhin Defence (2000)^[16][33]
• The Safety of Objects (2001)^[16][33][34]
• The Soul of a Man (2003)^[16][33]
• The Blues (2003)^[16][33][34]
• Lightning in a Bottle (2004)^[16][33][34]
• Hard Candy (2005)^[16][33][34]
• American Masters:No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)^[16][33][34]
• Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas (2006)^[16][33][34]
• Where God Left His Shoes (2007)^[16][33][34]
• Girl Rising (2013)^[35]
• Pandora's Promise (2013)^[18]
• We The Economy (2014)^[36]

• Inspirations (1997)^[16][33]
• Me & Isaac Newton (1999)^[16][33]
• Titus (1999)^[16][33]
• Coastlines (2002)^[16][33][34]
• Far from Heaven (2002)^[16][33][34]

• Jody Allen atIMDb

• 1955 births
• 20th-century American businesspeople
• 20th-century American businesswomen
• 20th-century American philanthropists
• 20th-century American women philanthropists
• 21st-century American businesspeople
• 21st-century American businesswomen
• 21st-century American philanthropists
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• American chief executives of financial services companies
• American nonprofit executives
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• Businesspeople from Seattle
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• Lakeside School (Seattle) alumni
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• NBA owners
• Philanthropists from Washington (state)
• Seattle Seahawks owners
• Whitman College alumni
• Women American football executives
• Women sports owners

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